Top 6 Four
Regenerative Japanese stem cell treatment raises hopes for spinal cord injuries—but sparks ethical debate
The country fast-tracked the controversial therapy, opening an international rift over who should make health care decisions ...
Podcast: Food snobbery vs the Impossible Burger: A skeptical look at health claims about plant-based meat
"Natural food" advocates have blasted Impossible and Beyond as unhealthy. Let's look at their arguments ...
How ‘alien genetics’ would change our understanding of life, biology and evolution
While we await our first contact with alien life, scientists investigate possible scenarios for extraterrestrial biology ...
We’re unlikely to cure Alzheimer’s with CRISPR. But the gene-editing tool could play a crucial role.
Nearly 6 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease without solid treatment options ...
Viewpoint: Pouring greed on an ethical fire—Questionable ‘litigation finance’ scam funds glyphosate-cancer lawsuit mill
Greed is being poured on an ethical fire ...
Glimpse into the future? 2029 ‘press release’ touts services for designer babies
In the future, parents may have the option to genetically engineer their children, and now is the time to discuss ...
‘Why did I get cancer?’ We can do more to alleviate ‘angst, guilt’ accompanying a diagnosis
More time spent explaining the biology of cancer to patients can help alleviate angst and guilt. ...
Diet and dementia: Is fast food really ‘eating away your brain’?
Nutrition studies on Alzheimer's conclude that diet might affect brain health. Beware of media spins that claim more ...
Viewpoint: There’s a reason we haven’t cured cancer. It has nothing to do with ‘leadership, motivation, or funding’
Although fighting cancer is an admirable cause, there are many things standing in our way of a universal cure, such ...
Why do some elite athletes die during intense exercise? The answer may be in their genes.
Biological anthropologists and other researchers investigate why there is a diversity of symptoms and outcomes in people with sickle cell ...
Monsanto and ‘Big Ag’ strangle American farming? Sanders, Warren likely to attack conventional agriculture, promote organics at Democratic debates
This week's opening round of debates threatens to fall shockingly short on science ...
Viewpoint: FDA must do more to protect consumers from ‘outright fraud’ of dietary supplements
Dietary supplements are often ineffective, if not dangerous. What does the path to supplement legislation and regulation look like? ...
Why popular image of autism as a male-dominated condition could hurt females
A commonly cited statistic is that boys have about a 1 in 52 chance of being placed on the autism ...
How a genetically-engineered phage therapy defeated a drug-resistant infection, raising hopes for chronically ill patients
After a difficult lung transplant, 17-year-old cystic fibrosis patient was successfully treated with experimental bacterial phage therapy ...
After another promising Alzheimer’s drug trial fails, we have to ask: Are we on the right path to a cure?
As trial after trial of beta-amyloid drugs fail, there's a possibility that Alzheimer's researchers have the wrong target ...
Why synthetic biology is about much more than resurrecting woolly mammoths
Synthetic biology...Simply mentioning this term — whether at a cocktail party or on a pop culture TV show — evokes ...
Was our brain growth kick-started by ancestors scavenging bone marrow from animal carcasses?
A new theory challenges assumptions about when and how our ancestors altered their behaviors to boost brainpower ...
Viewpoint: 300 scientists say FDA’s plan to regulate CRISPR-edited animals as drugs will effectively shut down innovation
This proposed regulatory approach for genome editing in animals will make it cost prohibitive for both U.S. researchers and livestock ...
Fresh from European ban victory, anti-chemical activists turn their sights on Canada, targeting neonicotinoid pesticides as a ‘bee killer’
There is an inevitable consequence when technically inexpert politicians and politically-influenced bureaucrats allow public policy to be driven by dogmatic ...
NASA twins study highlights key risks for long-term space travel: Cosmic rays and microgravity
When NASA reported preliminary observations about the famous “twin astronaut” study a year ago, the media rushed in, reporting the ...
Do humans have a ‘ghost’ ancestor? Artificial intelligence thinks so.
A third archaic human species may have been identified, this time with deep learning methods ...
No longer science fiction: Brain-to-brain interfaces can transmit thoughts
It’s not sci-fi, it’s not mind control, but a real world attempt at telepathy ...
WTF? Did the rise of agriculture—and soft foods—give us the ability to drop F bombs?
How the foods we eat influence the sounds our languages develop ...
Whispering down the ‘fake news’ lane targeting conventional farming: No, Lou Gehrig’s Disease not caused by pesticides spread by chemical-spraying airplanes
Is it sensationalism to get traffic, lazy reporting -- or intentional misrepresentation of facts? ...
Why human evolution is far from over—and may be speeding up
Global studies of human DNA show that natural selection continues to change who we are ...
Viewpoint: Controversy flares over activist ‘predatort lawyers’ who ‘massaged facts’ in the Monsanto-glyphosate case
Lawyers often use a certain breed of self-interested scientist to terrify a jury of vulnerable non-specialists ...
What’s the future of human gene editing? Balancing ethical and religious concerns with evidence-based uses of genetic technologies
The November announcement of CRISPR-created babies provoked an intense uproar from scientists, ethicists and the public alike. Fears of independent ...
